Life
The answers
So they say 1. President François Hollande of France 2. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, of Nick Clegg, the…
London greats
The London Chess Classic, graced by two former world champions Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik, as well as the world…
Christmas chess puzzle
White to play. This position is from Anderssen-Kieseritzky, London 1851. It is a brilliant encounter that became known as the…
Season’s greetings
In Competition No. 2877 you were invited to submit a Christmas round robin as it might have been written by…
Anagram Pie Christmas double puzzle
A first prize of £100, three prizes of £25 and six further prizes of the Chambers Book of Great Speeches…
To 2189: Offering
Answers to clues in italics — stramash (1A), pasteboard (33) and lineated (36) — are treated as in the ROMAN…
What will it take to live up to my father’s Great Life?
I received a phone call the other day that I wasn’t expecting. It was a BBC producer calling about a…
Fifteen things we learned about sport in 2014
It was the year of KP, Keano and the Kiwis; of Federer, Froch and Phil the Power (no change there…
The most preposterous restaurant to have opened in London this year
Somerset House, a handsome Georgian palace on the Thames, was once the office of the Inland Revenue, and the courtyard was…
How to pick the perfect present
I had always attributed it to bad luck in the genetic lottery. I am three-eighths Welsh and a quarter Scottish,…
Battle for Britain
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Cognac and the Viking connection in la France profonde
The chestnut trees were still resplendent in yellow leaf along the banks of a misty autumn river on its glide…
Dear Mary solves problems for Jim Broadbent, N.M. Gwynne, Jesse Norman and others
Once again Mary has invited some of her favourite figures in the public eye to submit personal queries for her…
The curious language of Christmas carols
I could never understand as a little girl why we sang: ‘Away in a manger, no crib for a bed.’…
The answers
So they say 1. President François Hollande of France 2. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, of Nick Clegg, the…
Christmas Quiz
So they say In 2014, who was quoted as saying:1. ‘There is no status for the partner of a head…
The answers
So they say 1. President François Hollande of France 2. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, of Nick Clegg, the…
Christmas Quiz
So they say In 2014, who was quoted as saying:1. ‘There is no status for the partner of a head…
The heroes of Cognac
The chestnut trees were still resplendent in yellow leaf along the banks of a misty autumn river on its glide…
Smock and awe
Somerset House, a handsome Georgian palace on the Thames, was once the office of the Inland Revenue, and the courtyard was…
Fifteen things we learned about sport this year
It was the year of KP, Keano and the Kiwis; of Federer, Froch and Phil the Power (no change there…
Gold standard
‘Hang on a minute—he’s a bit wobbly,’ trainer Oliver Sherwood told photographers imploring him to stand with his winner when…
Cashmere socks and the secret of happiness
I had always attributed it to bad luck in the genetic lottery. I am three-eighths Welsh and a quarter Scottish,…
Wild life
Laikipia We are privileged to live with lions on the farm. We hear them most nights. We encounter them frequently.…
Another New York institution bites the dust
Except for sickness in one’s family or the loss of a life, is there anything sadder than to see a…
